University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, February 26
Ann Arbor, MI
5:30 PM
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at
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Photo by: Ceci De Young
'U' Heads to No. 2 Michigan for Road Series Feb. 26-27
2/25/2026 11:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Gophers' final regular season road series
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota men's hockey team heads to No. 2 Michigan for its final road series of the regular season Feb. 26-27 at Yost Ice Arena.
The Golden Gophers close a four-game road stretch against the Wolverines and the series opens Thursday at 5:30 p.m. (CT) before finishing Friday at 5 p.m. (CT). Both games will be televised live on Big Ten Network, while an audio broadcast will also be available via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
LAST TIME ON THE ICE
Minnesota earned a shootout win Friday in a 2-2 tie at Notre Dame (Feb. 13-14) before suffering a late 3-2 loss in Saturday's series finale at Compton Family Ice Arena. John Mittelstadt and Brodie Ziemer staked the Gophers to an early lead in the opener, and Ziemer and Javon Moore converted in the shootout as Luca Di Pasquo sealed the extra Big Ten point. On Saturday, goals from Cal Thomas and Moore had Minnesota in front after two periods, but the Fighting Irish tied the game late on the power play and scored the winner with 51 seconds remaining to close the weekend.
PUTTING THE GOLD IN GOPHERS
Early Sunday morning, former Gophers Brock Faber and Jackson LaCombe were awarded gold medals with Team USA after an epic, overtime victory over rival Canada to cap the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy. They became the 13th and 14th skaters from Minnesota men's hockey to claim Olympic gold following previous wins in 1960 and 1980. Another former Maroon and Gold player made a major impact overseas as Erik Haula claimed a medal thanks to his six points in six games that helped Finland earn bronze. He scored the eventual medal-clinching tally during a two-goal effort in the victory against Slovakia on Saturday. Gophers' strength and conditioning coach Cal Dietz also helped the Americans win a gold medal on the women's side where five current and former Minnesota skaters were on the team.
ZIEMER KEEPS LIGHTING THE LAMP
Brodie Ziemer is operating at a point-per-game pace and is leading the Gophers in scoring with 31 points in 31 games, while his 11 power-play goals own the NCAA's top spot. The sophomore closed 2025 on a blistering run, lighting the lamp in six of the final seven outings with a pair of three-game goal streaks and piled up eight goals and 11 points across that stretch. The Chaska, Minn., native delivered back-to-back multi-goal efforts at Ohio State in December to earn B1G First Star honors (Dec. 9). Ziemer has continued that trend in 2026, finding the back of the net eight times in 12 games for a career-best 20 goals, which ranks sixth in the country. He has a knack for lighting the lamp on Saturday where he has scored in six of the past nine Saturday outings dating back to November, including five consecutive at one point. His two-goal effort in the series finale versus Wisconsin (Jan. 31) extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, his third streak of three games this year, and included the first shorthanded marker of his tenure, while he is currently riding a career-long, seven-game point streak.
LAMB KEEPS FEASTING
Senior captain Brody Lamb has been a driving force behind the Gophers' offense, ranking second on the team with a career-best 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists. He reached double-digit goals for the third-straight season with the 15th power-play tally of his career versus Michigan (Jan. 17). The Byron, Minn., native posted consecutive three-point outings at Denver (Nov. 29) and Ohio State (Dec. 4), recording four multi-point performances over the final eight games of 2025 before adding his team-leading eighth multi-point effort of the season against Wisconsin (Jan. 31). By reaching the scoresheet in both outings at Notre Dame, Lamb pushed his point streak to a career-long nine games and has five goals and six helpers during that stretch.
MOONEY MAGIC
LJ Mooney's breakaway goal to close the sweep of the Fighting Irish on Nov. 8 highlighted the speed and skill of the Gophers' rookie. It was the first multi-point night of his young career, and he has barely slowed down since, tallying six more multi-point performances to put up 19 points in the last 16 games. The West Mifflin, Pa., native has at least one point in 13 of 15 series played, totaling six goals and a team-leading 20 assists, which ranks seventh among NCAA freshmen. Seventeen of those points have come during Minnesota's 26 total power-play goals where his vision and creativity are on full display. His two points in the series opener versus Ohio State (Feb. 6) stretched Mooney's point streak to seven games, the second-longest of any Gopher this season.
LUKE DOING IT ALL
Captain Luke Mittelstadt has opened his final season playing some of the best hockey of his career, putting up 14 points over his last 20 appearances and is playing more than 26 minutes per game. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native is second for the Gophers with 17 assists, second in the B1G and 15th among all NCAA defensemen, with 14 of those points coming while running the blue line on the man advantage. His first goal of the year, a power-play game winner against Notre Dame (Nov. 8), ended a 23-game scoring drought and capped the series sweep, while his second goal was also the winner to finish a B1G sweep of Wisconsin (Jan. 31).
STREAK FINALLY SNAPPED
After more than 2,000 days without a shootout goal or victory, Minnesota ended both droughts against Boston College on Oct. 10 thanks to a pair of newcomers. LJ Mooney and Tanner Ludtke each converted in the shootout, while goaltender Nathan Airey turned aside both Eagles' attempts to secure the Gophers' first shootout win since Feb. 14, 2020, at Notre Dame. The victory snapped an 11-shootout skid during which Minnesota had gone 28 consecutive attempts without a goal. The Maroon and Gold kept that winning trend with its second-straight shootout victory after scoring 2-of-3 attempts at Notre Dame on Feb. 13.
AN INSIDE LOOK AT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are coming off a series split at Wisconsin last weekend as they hold a narrow, one-point cushion atop the league standings heading into their final weekend of the regular season. Michigan is 9-2-1 since the calendar flipped to 2026 thanks to the nation's top scoring offense at 4.5 goals per game and the second-best power play, converting at 30.4 percent. T.J. Hughes and Michael Hage are both among the NCAA's top-five scoring leaders with 44 and 43 points, respectively. Will Horcoff has seven game-winning goals, the most in the country, while his 22 total goals rank second. Freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic owns a 19-6-1 record behind a 2.12 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE WOLVERINES
Minnesota continues to hold the edge in the all-time series versus Michigan with a 157-139-21 (.528) record in a rivalry that dates back to 1923 despite losing both games of its first matchup inside 3M Arena at Mariucci earlier this year. Brody Lamb, Tanner Ludtke, and Brodie Ziemer scored the Gophers' only three goals during that January series with all three coming on the power play where the team was 3-for-6 (50 percent) in the two games. Three of the last four meetings between the two historic programs have needed overtime, while the Maroon and Gold are 8-2-4 in games at Yost Ice Arena since Coach Motzko took over in 2018-19.
RAISED ANOTHER BANNER
Minnesota raised a championship banner to its rafters after it secured a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship a year ago, its league-record seventh title in program history and the 30th overall crown for the Gophers. It marked the first shared regular-season championship in the 12-year history of the conference and Minnesota's third title in the last four seasons. Michigan State joined the Maroon and Gold as the only programs with multiple championships, while every Big Ten school except Michigan has claimed at least one title.
STANLEY CUP RUN CONTINUES
When the final seconds of the 2024-25 National Hockey League season ran off the clock, a Minnesota program record was established. For the fourth-consecutive season, a former Gophers' skater won the Stanley Cup as Nate Schmidt became the 14th player or coach representing the Maroon and Gold to hoist the prestigious trophy. He followed Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche-2022), Phil Kessel (Vegas Golden Knights-2023), and Kyle Okposo (Florida Panthers-2024) in that stretch of champions.
PROVEN PATH TO THE PROS
Minnesota continues to make its mark on professional hockey, as 36 players with ties to the program participated in NHL training camps for the 2025-26 season, representing 20 different organizations. The group, which spans back to the 2009 roster, features 15 former team captains and 10 All-Americans. The Gophers' NHL presence remains unmatched across college hockey. A total of 25 alumni skated in the league last season, pushing the all-time number of Minnesota players to reach the NHL to an NCAA-best 131. Four more joined the list in 2024-25, as Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Matthew Wood each made their professional debut following their collegiate seasons in Maroon and Gold.
The Golden Gophers close a four-game road stretch against the Wolverines and the series opens Thursday at 5:30 p.m. (CT) before finishing Friday at 5 p.m. (CT). Both games will be televised live on Big Ten Network, while an audio broadcast will also be available via the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
LAST TIME ON THE ICE
Minnesota earned a shootout win Friday in a 2-2 tie at Notre Dame (Feb. 13-14) before suffering a late 3-2 loss in Saturday's series finale at Compton Family Ice Arena. John Mittelstadt and Brodie Ziemer staked the Gophers to an early lead in the opener, and Ziemer and Javon Moore converted in the shootout as Luca Di Pasquo sealed the extra Big Ten point. On Saturday, goals from Cal Thomas and Moore had Minnesota in front after two periods, but the Fighting Irish tied the game late on the power play and scored the winner with 51 seconds remaining to close the weekend.
PUTTING THE GOLD IN GOPHERS
Early Sunday morning, former Gophers Brock Faber and Jackson LaCombe were awarded gold medals with Team USA after an epic, overtime victory over rival Canada to cap the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy. They became the 13th and 14th skaters from Minnesota men's hockey to claim Olympic gold following previous wins in 1960 and 1980. Another former Maroon and Gold player made a major impact overseas as Erik Haula claimed a medal thanks to his six points in six games that helped Finland earn bronze. He scored the eventual medal-clinching tally during a two-goal effort in the victory against Slovakia on Saturday. Gophers' strength and conditioning coach Cal Dietz also helped the Americans win a gold medal on the women's side where five current and former Minnesota skaters were on the team.
ZIEMER KEEPS LIGHTING THE LAMP
Brodie Ziemer is operating at a point-per-game pace and is leading the Gophers in scoring with 31 points in 31 games, while his 11 power-play goals own the NCAA's top spot. The sophomore closed 2025 on a blistering run, lighting the lamp in six of the final seven outings with a pair of three-game goal streaks and piled up eight goals and 11 points across that stretch. The Chaska, Minn., native delivered back-to-back multi-goal efforts at Ohio State in December to earn B1G First Star honors (Dec. 9). Ziemer has continued that trend in 2026, finding the back of the net eight times in 12 games for a career-best 20 goals, which ranks sixth in the country. He has a knack for lighting the lamp on Saturday where he has scored in six of the past nine Saturday outings dating back to November, including five consecutive at one point. His two-goal effort in the series finale versus Wisconsin (Jan. 31) extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, his third streak of three games this year, and included the first shorthanded marker of his tenure, while he is currently riding a career-long, seven-game point streak.
LAMB KEEPS FEASTING
Senior captain Brody Lamb has been a driving force behind the Gophers' offense, ranking second on the team with a career-best 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists. He reached double-digit goals for the third-straight season with the 15th power-play tally of his career versus Michigan (Jan. 17). The Byron, Minn., native posted consecutive three-point outings at Denver (Nov. 29) and Ohio State (Dec. 4), recording four multi-point performances over the final eight games of 2025 before adding his team-leading eighth multi-point effort of the season against Wisconsin (Jan. 31). By reaching the scoresheet in both outings at Notre Dame, Lamb pushed his point streak to a career-long nine games and has five goals and six helpers during that stretch.
MOONEY MAGIC
LJ Mooney's breakaway goal to close the sweep of the Fighting Irish on Nov. 8 highlighted the speed and skill of the Gophers' rookie. It was the first multi-point night of his young career, and he has barely slowed down since, tallying six more multi-point performances to put up 19 points in the last 16 games. The West Mifflin, Pa., native has at least one point in 13 of 15 series played, totaling six goals and a team-leading 20 assists, which ranks seventh among NCAA freshmen. Seventeen of those points have come during Minnesota's 26 total power-play goals where his vision and creativity are on full display. His two points in the series opener versus Ohio State (Feb. 6) stretched Mooney's point streak to seven games, the second-longest of any Gopher this season.
LUKE DOING IT ALL
Captain Luke Mittelstadt has opened his final season playing some of the best hockey of his career, putting up 14 points over his last 20 appearances and is playing more than 26 minutes per game. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native is second for the Gophers with 17 assists, second in the B1G and 15th among all NCAA defensemen, with 14 of those points coming while running the blue line on the man advantage. His first goal of the year, a power-play game winner against Notre Dame (Nov. 8), ended a 23-game scoring drought and capped the series sweep, while his second goal was also the winner to finish a B1G sweep of Wisconsin (Jan. 31).
STREAK FINALLY SNAPPED
After more than 2,000 days without a shootout goal or victory, Minnesota ended both droughts against Boston College on Oct. 10 thanks to a pair of newcomers. LJ Mooney and Tanner Ludtke each converted in the shootout, while goaltender Nathan Airey turned aside both Eagles' attempts to secure the Gophers' first shootout win since Feb. 14, 2020, at Notre Dame. The victory snapped an 11-shootout skid during which Minnesota had gone 28 consecutive attempts without a goal. The Maroon and Gold kept that winning trend with its second-straight shootout victory after scoring 2-of-3 attempts at Notre Dame on Feb. 13.
AN INSIDE LOOK AT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are coming off a series split at Wisconsin last weekend as they hold a narrow, one-point cushion atop the league standings heading into their final weekend of the regular season. Michigan is 9-2-1 since the calendar flipped to 2026 thanks to the nation's top scoring offense at 4.5 goals per game and the second-best power play, converting at 30.4 percent. T.J. Hughes and Michael Hage are both among the NCAA's top-five scoring leaders with 44 and 43 points, respectively. Will Horcoff has seven game-winning goals, the most in the country, while his 22 total goals rank second. Freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic owns a 19-6-1 record behind a 2.12 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE WOLVERINES
Minnesota continues to hold the edge in the all-time series versus Michigan with a 157-139-21 (.528) record in a rivalry that dates back to 1923 despite losing both games of its first matchup inside 3M Arena at Mariucci earlier this year. Brody Lamb, Tanner Ludtke, and Brodie Ziemer scored the Gophers' only three goals during that January series with all three coming on the power play where the team was 3-for-6 (50 percent) in the two games. Three of the last four meetings between the two historic programs have needed overtime, while the Maroon and Gold are 8-2-4 in games at Yost Ice Arena since Coach Motzko took over in 2018-19.
RAISED ANOTHER BANNER
Minnesota raised a championship banner to its rafters after it secured a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship a year ago, its league-record seventh title in program history and the 30th overall crown for the Gophers. It marked the first shared regular-season championship in the 12-year history of the conference and Minnesota's third title in the last four seasons. Michigan State joined the Maroon and Gold as the only programs with multiple championships, while every Big Ten school except Michigan has claimed at least one title.
STANLEY CUP RUN CONTINUES
When the final seconds of the 2024-25 National Hockey League season ran off the clock, a Minnesota program record was established. For the fourth-consecutive season, a former Gophers' skater won the Stanley Cup as Nate Schmidt became the 14th player or coach representing the Maroon and Gold to hoist the prestigious trophy. He followed Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche-2022), Phil Kessel (Vegas Golden Knights-2023), and Kyle Okposo (Florida Panthers-2024) in that stretch of champions.
PROVEN PATH TO THE PROS
Minnesota continues to make its mark on professional hockey, as 36 players with ties to the program participated in NHL training camps for the 2025-26 season, representing 20 different organizations. The group, which spans back to the 2009 roster, features 15 former team captains and 10 All-Americans. The Gophers' NHL presence remains unmatched across college hockey. A total of 25 alumni skated in the league last season, pushing the all-time number of Minnesota players to reach the NHL to an NCAA-best 131. Four more joined the list in 2024-25, as Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Matthew Wood each made their professional debut following their collegiate seasons in Maroon and Gold.
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Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 2
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